Category: Faith & Philosophy

Secularism in Antebellum America (Religion and Postmodernism) by John Lardas Modern Requirements: .PDF reader, 2.0 MbOverview: Ghosts. Railroads. Sing Sing. Sex machines. These are just a few of the phenomena that appear in John Lardas Modern’s pioneering account of religion and society in nineteenth-century America. This book uncovers surprising connections between secular ideology and the rise of technologies that opened up new ways of being religious. Exploring the eruptions of religion in New York’s penny presses, the budding fields of anthropology and phrenology, and Moby-Dick, Modern challenges the strict separation between the religious and the secular that remains integral to discussions about religion today.Modern frames his study around the dread, wonder, paranoia, and manic confidence of being haunted, arguing that experiences and explanations of enchantment fueled secularism’s emergence. The awareness of spectral energies coincided with attempts to tame the unruly fruits of secularism—in the cultivation of a spiritual self among Unitarians, for instance, or in John Murray Spear’s erotic longings for a perpetual motion machine. Combining rigorous theoretical inquiry with beguiling historical arcana, Modern unsettles long-held views of religion and the methods of narrating its past.Genre: Non-Fiction > Faith, Beliefs & Philosophy

Awakening of the Watchers: The Secret Mission of the Rebel Angels in the Forbidden Quadrant by Timothy WyllieRequirements: .ePUB reader, 2.1 MBOverview: Writing together with Timothy Wyllie, the angel Georgia details the events of Earth’s ancient history from 16,500 BC to 8,000 BC

• Chronicles the disappearance of Lemuria, the rise of Atlantean technology and piracy, and the first wave of rebel angels incarnating as Atlantean slaves

• Explains the 3 eras of Atlantis and how the island was finally destroyed in 1198 BC

• Interwoven throughout with observations about Timothy Wyllie’s current and previous lives, such as his years of involvement with the Process ChurchGenre: Non-Fiction > Faith, Beliefs & Philosophy

Zeno and the Tortoise: How to Think Like a Philosopher by Nicholas FearnRequirements: .ePUB reader, 2.MBOverview: From the author of The Latest Answers to the Oldest Questions, a philosophical guide that’s “great for sounding cleverer than you really are” (Men’s Health).

For those who don’t know the difference between Lucretius’s spear and Hume’s fork, Zeno and the Tortoise explains not just who each philosopher was and what he thought, but exactly how he came to think in the way he did.

In a witty and engaging style that incorporates everything from Sting to cell phones to Bill Gates, Fearn demystifies the ways of thought that have shaped and inspired humanity—among many others, the Socratic method, Descartes’s use of doubt, Bentham’s theory of utilitarianism, Rousseau’s social contract, and, of course, the concept of common sense. Along the way, there are fascinating biographical snippets about the philosophers themselves: the story of Thales falling down a well while studying the stars, and of Socrates being told by a face-reader that his was the face of a monster who was capable of any crime. Written in twenty-five short chapters, each readable during the journey to work, Zeno and the Tortoise is the ideal course in intellectual self-defense. Acute, often irreverent, but always authoritative, this is a unique introduction to the ideas that have shaped us all.Genre: Non-Fiction > Faith, Beliefs & Philosophy

An Introduction to Yōkai Culture: Monsters, Ghosts, and Outsiders in Japanese History by Kazuhiko KomatsuRequirements: .ePUB reader, 13.1MB | RetailOverview: Since ancient times, the Japanese have lived with superstitions of strange presences and phenomena known as “yōkai,” creating a culture by turns infused with unease, fear, and divinity. Tsukimono spirit possessions. Fearsome kappa, oni, and tengu. Yamauba crones. Ghostly yūrei. Otherworldy ijin…Where did they come from? Why do they remain so popular? Written by Japan’s premier scholar of yōkai and strange tales, this book is both an introduction to the rich imagination and spirituality of Japan’s yōkai culture and a history of the authors and writings that have shaped yōkai studies as a field.Genre: Non-Fiction > History

Captivating Revised and Updated: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul By John Eldredge (Author), Stasi Eldredge (Author)Requirements: .ePUB, .MOBI/.AZW reader, 786 KBOverview: Every woman was once a little girl. And every little girl holds in her heart her most precious dreams. She longs to be swept up into a romance, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, to” be” the Beauty of the story. And yet―how many women do you know who ever find that life?

Most women think they have to settle for a life of efficiency and duty, striving to be the women they “ought” to be but often feeling they have failed. Sadly, too many messages for Christian women add to the pressure. “Do these ten things, and you will be a godly woman.” The effect has not been good on the feminine soul.

The message of “Captivating” is this: Your heart matters more than anything else in all creation. The desires you had as a little girl and the longings you still feel are telling you of the life God created you to live. He offers to rescue your heart and release you to live as a fully alive and feminine woman. A woman who is truly captivating.Genre: Non-Fiction > Faith, Beliefs & Philosophy > Christian > Religion > Christianity > Faith > Spirituality > Christian Living

The Tao of Systems Thinking: Exploring the Parallels Between Eastern Mysticism and Systems Thinking by Michael McCurleyRequirements: .ePUB, .MOBI/.AZW reader, 408KB | RetailOverview: There are many parallels between the ideas of Tao Te Ching , written 2,500 years ago by Lao Tzu, and those of Systems Thinking, which has come into prominence with the advent of modern personal computers, through people like Jay W. Forrester, and other thinkers such as Donella Meadows and Fritjof Capra.

This book invites us to consider certain timeless wisdoms related to Systems Thinking, and provides us with a few points to explore as we face major challenges for resolving issues we confront for our future. Implicit in all of this are the roles we play in what our world has become, and how we could change or improve if we become more aware of who we are individually and collectively as a species.

This book also contains a complete English version of Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, which has been translated by the author. The book has also been updated to match passages and commentaries for easier reading. Commentaries have been carefully researched and include hyperlinks to more than a hundred sources in the Bibliography of Links and References for further exploration.Genre: Non-Fiction > Faith, Beliefs & Philosophy

Icarus of Brooklyn – A Spiritual Quest Gone Wrong by Matthew AlperRequirements: .ePUB reader, 2.5 MBOverview: At some point in our early youth, we come to recognize the grim fact that all living things–ourselves included–die. From the moment Matthew Alper made this connection, he yearned to understand the nature of death. Was it a permanent ending or, as many believed, the advent of a new beginning? Only a higher power, it seemed, could answer such lofty questions, and so it became Matthew’s chief aim to acquire knowledge of God. Thus begins the personal journey that is Icarus of Brooklyn: A Spiritual Quest Gone Wrong. From early childhood Matthew devotes himself to the investigation of all things magical, mystical and philosophical in search of ultimate meaning. Only Matthew is no Buddha. The product of Jewish bohemian Brooklynites, Matthew is impish and irreverent. Evolving from a hopeful innocent to a skeptical adolescent, Matthew begins experimenting with psychedelic drugs to hasten his quest for transcendence only to have a bad LSD trip that precipitates a tragic descent into madness, attempted suicide and hospitalization. Like the Greek tale of Icarus, it is the story of a man who will stop at nothing to gain a glimpse into the Heavens only to be burned for his hubris and wanton recklessness. Through a fortunate twist of fate, Matthew is restored to find redemption in a life of contentment without spiritual certitude. Sometimes in the search for ultimate answers one gets burned.Genre: Non-Fiction > Faith, Beliefs & Philosophy

A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles" by Marianne WilliamsonRequirements: .ePUB reader, 291 KBOverview: Back by popular demand — and newly updated by the author — the mega-bestselling spiritual guide in which Marianne Williamson shares her reflections on A Course in Miracles and her insights on the application of love in the search for inner peace.

Williamson reveals how we each can become a miracle worker by accepting God and by the expression of love in our daily lives. Whether psychic pain is in the area of relationships, career, or health, she shows us how love is a potent force, the key to inner peace, and how by practicing love we can make our own lives more fulfilling while creating a more peaceful and loving world for our childrenGenre: Non-Fiction > Faith, Beliefs & Philosophy > Spirituality > Self Help > Nonfiction > Personal Development > Inspirational

Access to Inner Worlds by Colin WilsonRequirements: .ePUB, .MOBI/.AZW reader, 508 KBOverview: The world-famous author of THE OUTSIDER shows how we may learn to achieve enlightenment.

Access to Inner Worlds is Colin Wilson’s considered response to the questions raised in The Outsider. Based on the remarkable case of Brad Absetz, it takes issue with the false despair of the rationalist and presents a completely new vision of human potential. In the midst of personally distressing circumstances, Brad Absetz, an American counsellor in Finland, found himself experiencing altered states of consciousness. These entailed poems that wrote themselves and ‘automatic’ painting, and seemed to offer a key to greater mental control and emotional fulfilment. An examination of these phenomena revealed the existence of a practical route to enlightenment: a means by which we can tap our bodies’ innate wisdom, akin to meditation. Building on current theories about split-brain activity, Colin Wilson argues for the recognition of the immense creative force of our neglected intuitive self. The logical self can be persuaded to draw it into collaboration, enabling us to summon ‘peak’ experiences at will.